HelpCoil whine sound during AC/battery changes while using AI or rendering on GM5ZG8W (RTX3080 mobile/AMD R9 5900HX)
HelpCoil whine sound during AC/battery changes while using AI or rendering on GM5ZG8W (RTX3080 mobile/AMD R9 5900HX)
Hello everyone, I’m trying to connect with others who might have faced the same challenge or offer helpful tips. My laptop is built from scratch with Windows 11 and runs AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU. It’s powered by a mobile RTX 3080 with 16GB RAM and 150W power draw. I’m using AI rendering tools like ComfyUI, Stable Diffusion, and Framepack, as well as Premiere Pro for rendering. Recently, I’ve noticed some changes: the coil whine has gotten much louder, particularly during intensive GPU tasks such as AI rendering. Sometimes it makes noise even when I move the mouse, but it stops completely once I stop moving it. It used to be a faint sound now—it sounds more like a sharp buzz or whistling and happens more often.
Additionally, something more worrying has started: while rendering, the system occasionally switches from AC power to battery for just a short time before switching back. I can see this in the Event Viewer logs, which show “Power source changed.” This behavior occurs even when the charger is firmly connected and hasn’t moved. I’ve also tested with HWInfo and confirmed it.
I’ve tried several fixes: reinstalling the NVIDIA drivers, changing the BIOS setting from dGPU only to hybrid graphics and back, adjusting the Windows power plan to cap CPU usage at 85%, and even trying to charge the laptop while off. When charging starts, the coil whine intensifies. If I remove the charger and turn on the laptop in battery mode, the whine appears again briefly before stopping. There’s no whine when using only battery.
Once the power supply is connected, the whine becomes even louder. During a render test with GPU-Z, the whine spikes while the GPU is under heavy load (AC power). During inference and rendering, especially when the GPU is working hard, this switch seems to happen. The laptop is four years old, and it began showing performance issues two years ago. They replaced the MOSFET after diagnosing a faulty one, and everything worked perfectly afterward.
I’m wondering if this could be related to the power supply. Since I’ve had the laptop for four years, it’s possible that the PSU might not be delivering consistent or enough power. This could be contributing to all these problems. Any insights or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help!
You're wondering if coil whining is the issue, or if interference from the mouse signal might be disrupting the sound circuit and causing problems. It seems like the AC charging circuit could be supplying extra power for demanding tasks, which might lead to battery drain and a shutdown—so switching to battery backup would be safer. This could be more of a concern during long periods of heavy use. The issue might not appear unless you're running intensive loads continuously. If that's the case, you'd need a stronger charging system or a better power supply. MOSFETs are part of the power delivery and a faulty one can definitely contribute to coil whine and unstable GPU performance. It's possible the power brick isn't delivering as much power now, but before upgrading, make sure your GPU hasn't failed after two years. Ultimately, it's your decision. If I had the machine, I'd prioritize gaming and general computing over AI rendering, using a tower for heavy tasks. A headless tower connected to the internet could simulate rendering while handling the workload elsewhere. Good luck!
You appreciate my response greatly. I completely understand your point about the tower, especially since constant movement makes a laptop essential. The model I own is 15.6 inches, and I can confirm it has already caused issues during transport—imagine a tower! Your idea of using it for rendering via the internet is brilliant; it’s a smart solution. You’re absolutely right, your comments are accurate. Regarding the noise, coil whining is likely the cause. A video might help illustrate the problem, but I doubt it would be useful. Could you let me know what specific tests you’d like to run? I want to ensure there’s nothing wrong with the laptop, even if it’s making noise or switching between AC and battery. It’s not a priority for me as long as it doesn’t fail or significantly slow down.
A laptop needs good airflow to stay cool. Placing it on your lap or bed restricts ventilation, which can cause problems. Even with a well-designed machine, its lifespan may shrink faster than a tower because of its compact size and precise parts. The general issue of easy repairs isn’t helping here. There’s no reliable way to predict how long a computer will last. I’m not aware of any test that accurately measures a device’s remaining life. If it stops working, it usually means it needs fixing or replacement. Swapping it is cheap, but power components like mosfets might be the real cause. For remote access instead of a tower, you can look into online services such as AWS and Azure. If the costs seem reasonable, it could be a good temporary option for testing or rendering without buying new hardware. Have a great day!
I attempted to power on the laptop using battery-only mode. When I pressed the power button, the backlights activated but the screen remained off for about a minute. After that, the laptop booted up very slowly and immediately displayed a time of 00:00. Once the new charger arrived, I connected it right away and noticed no coil whine anymore. The battery/AC switching stopped, and performance improved significantly—at least temporarily. However, when I tried to turn it on now, the same issue persisted: a black screen for 30 seconds or a minute, followed by a slow boot and a time reset to 00:00.
P.S.: Just to clarify, I wasn’t conducting a test to determine how long the laptop would fail. I was asking whether there’s any diagnostic method to identify which hardware component is malfunctioning.
It's easy to understand if your computer starts at midnight on January 1, 1900. This suggests a power outage affected the system clock. Many laptops use a CMOS battery, which is similar to a watch battery, and it runs on a small main battery. Replacing this should fix the issue for years. The problem might have been caused by the power adapter, not the new one. If the old adapter causes problems, the new one should work fine. Have a great day!
Not just using the old version causes issues. I experimented with rendering—both videos and AI—and the laptop runs faster now than before... since the start, I've never seen such performance. Can a power supply really make this difference? Most importantly, can a company sell a $3000 laptop with a 3-year warranty and then cut power supply costs by $30-40 to reduce performance and stability? That seems unbelievable. Honestly, it's crazy. By the way, I think the issue is resolved. I was surprised to learn about the CMOS battery; it felt strange that this problem only appeared when disconnecting the power. But if I keep the laptop plugged in, there’s no trouble at all. I guess that’s what’s happening. Thank you for your help! Have a great day!
Ahahaha, I get it. We're talking about a small Dutch company dealing with their customers like they were their sons—because they have few clients and need to grow and establish themselves. They’ve had to work hard, right? After more than two years, they finally got the laptop back in warranty and made several changes: swapped out half of the components, replaced the keyboard, and even changed the screen to a brand new one! All for free, including 40 dollars off the power supply that could have caused performance issues. People will probably think you didn’t build a great laptop—they might assume it’s weaker than expected or has problems. But the only real issue here is the power supply... for such a low price? That’s really questionable. I don’t understand why they’d make that choice.
Well, take your time before making that decision. It seems the company likely sources parts from another vendor rather than producing them in-house. They reviewed the requirements and tried several options to fit their laptop builds. But what happens if the supplier alters specifications unexpectedly? If some items fail quality tests or switch suppliers for essential components? Capitalism often brings such uncertainties. These situations are beyond the company's control but can still impact product quality. Reaching out to them about resolving a long-standing problem is probably the most constructive approach—either they’ll consider a new supplier or improve their checks. For now, let’s move on from this discussion. Have a great day and enjoy your fast laptop!